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Radiomics in hepatocellular carcinoma: a quantitative review

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Abstract

Radiomics is an emerging field which extracts quantitative radiology data from medical images and explores their correlation with clinical outcomes in a non-invasive manner. This review aims to assess whether radiomics is a useful and reproducible method for clinical management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of current radiomics literature pertaining specifically to HCC. From an initial set of 48 articles recovered through database searches, 23 articles were retained to be included in this review after full screening. Among these 23 studies, 7 used a radiomics approach in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Only two studies applied radiomics to positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET–CT). In the remaining 14 articles, a radiomics analysis was performed on computed tomography (CT). Eight studies dealt with the relationship between biological signatures and imaging findings, and can be classified as radiogenomic studies. For each study included in our review, we computed a Radiomics Quality Score (RQS) as proposed by Lambin et al. We found that the RQS (mean ± standard deviation) was 8.35 ± 5.38 (out of a possible maximum value of 36). Although these scores are fairly low, and radiomics has not yet reached clinical utility in HCC, it is important to underscore the fact that these early studies pave the way for the radiomics field with a focus on HCC. Radiomics is still a very young field, and is far from being mature, but it remains a very promising technology for the future for developing adequate personalized treatment as a non-invasive approach, for complementing or replacing tumor biopsies, as well as for developing novel prognostic biomarkers in HCC patients.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support of ARC, Paris and Institut hospitalo-universitaire, Strasbourg (TheraHCC IHUARC IHU201301187), as well as the European Union (ERC-AdG-2014-671,231-HEPCIR, H2020-667273-HEPCAR). In addition, the authors are grateful to Camille Goustiaux, Christopher Burel, and Guy Temporal for their assistance in proofreading the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut de Recherche Contre les Cancers de l’Appareil Digestif (IRCAD), Strasbourg, France

    Taiga Wakabayashi, Emanuele Felli, Patrick Pessaux & Jacques Marescaux

  2. Institut hospitalo-universitaire (IHU), Institute for Minimally Invasive Hybrid Image-Guided Surgery, Université de Strasbourg, 1 Place de l’Hôpital, 67000, Strasbourg, France

    Farid Ouhmich, Cristians Gonzalez-Cabrera, Emanuele Felli, Antonio Saviano, Vincent Agnus, Thomas F. Baumert, Patrick Pessaux, Jacques Marescaux & Benoit Gallix

  3. General, Digestive, and Endocrine Surgery, Nouvel Hôpital Civil, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France

    Emanuele Felli, Patrick Pessaux & Jacques Marescaux

  4. Inserm, U1110, Institut de Recherche sur les Maladies Virales et Hépatiques, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France

    Emanuele Felli, Antonio Saviano, Thomas F. Baumert & Patrick Pessaux

  5. Pôle Hépato-digestif, Hôpitaux Universitaires, Strasbourg, France

    Emanuele Felli, Antonio Saviano, Thomas F. Baumert & Patrick Pessaux

  6. Department of Diagnostic Radiology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    Peter Savadjiev & Benoit Gallix

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  1. Taiga Wakabayashi
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Contributions

TW and BG designed the research; TW and FO extracted the data; TW, PS and BG wrote the paper; CG, EF, AS, VA, TFB, PP, and BG edited the paper; JM supervised the paper; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Benoit Gallix.

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Conflict of interest

Thomas F. Baumert, Patrick Pessaux, Jacques Marescaux, and Benoit Gallix have received research grants from ARC, Paris and Institut hospitalo-universitaire, Strasbourg (TheraHCC IHUARC IHU201301187). Antonio Saviano and Thomas F. Baumert have received research grants from the European Union (ERC-AdG-2014-671231-HEPCIR, H2020-667273-HEPCAR). Taiga Wakabayashi, Farid Ouhmich, Cristians Gonzalez-Cabrera, Emanuele Felli, Vincent Agnus, and Peter Savadjiev declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Wakabayashi, T., Ouhmich, F., Gonzalez-Cabrera, C. et al. Radiomics in hepatocellular carcinoma: a quantitative review. Hepatol Int 13, 546–559 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12072-019-09973-0

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